Databases have become the subject of significant recent interest, not only because of the increasing volume of data being stored and retrieved by computerized databases but also by virtue of the data relationships which can be established during the storage and retrieval processes. Most of the interest in databases has concerned users demands for an improved ergonomic interface to the database through innovative display technology.
A recent innovation to improve the ergonomic interface to a knowledge-base system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,013 to Dunn. The patent reveals an interactive, rule-based system which allows icons to be selectively tied to particular rule definitions. The stored rules are cross-referenced to the icon to which they pertain, so that whenever the icon is selected by a problem solving user for use in building a problem solution, the rules pertaining thereto are accessed and applied.
Research Disclosure, Icons in the Headings of Columnar Lists, March 1990 discloses another example of an ergonomic advance in user interfaces for databases. This disclosure discusses a facility to allow icons to appear in the heading area of a columnar list. For example, fields such as security level can have a header that is an icon and looks like a lock. Another Research Disclosure, Iconic Fields, November 1989, discloses icons that can be selectively opened to reveal detailed information concerning the field and its contents. Then, when the user has adjusted the detailed information, the field can be deselected and returned to an icon.